Sonic Forces: Illusions and Cold Hard Truths
by MysteriousGirl92
Summary: Before destroying the Resistance, Infinite decides to toy with some people. Four people, to be precise. Will they ever find a way out of their nightmare? Feel free to rate and review. (UPDATE: the dialogue patterns have been fixed in order to avoid confusion.)
1. Slumber

**What if Infinite decided to toy with the minds of four of our favourite characters before summoning a large sun to destroy an army of heroes?**

The Resistance, led by the Guardian of the Master Emerald, charged at the copies of a water god in its basic form, a red muscular Zeti, a robot carved in the shape of a blue metallic hedgehog and a hedgehog had who once sworn revenge on the world.

The red echidna pulled a couple of punches, the black and red hedgehog flew toward and bumped into some clones and the silver hedgehog froze a few clones in their tracks, allowing a green crocodile, a magenta chameleon and a bee to take them out.

With the help of the hedgehog's psychic powers, a pink hedgehog hits a clone with her hammer and a white bat lifts herself off the ground and kicks a few clones down. The blue hedgehog (along with a yellow twin-tailed fox and a younger blue hedgehog) and his team of heroes rush through the countless numbers of clones, eventually reaching a masked creature of some kind.

This creature had black gloves and matching boots, and a metallic mask. He also had a glowing red and black gem attached to his chest, allowing him to use his powers at will. The azure hero sped towards the masked animal, leaving his team behind before skidding to a halt. He was the first to open his mouth to speak.

"Hey, Infinite. Long time no see! Did you miss me?" he spoke, as if talking to a long-lost friend.

"Why yes, I did." Infinite replied. "I've been looking forward to finishing you and your annoying friends!" In a flash of red, he knocked the group of heroes back with a powerful force.

"But first…" Summoning the gem's power, Infinite conjures four red orbs and pushes them into the ground. A red ring each surrounds Sonic, Knuckles, Shadow and Tails. Before anyone could react, the red rings emit a bright glow before summoning powerful streaks of red lightning that suck the energy out of them, knocking each of them down and out.

The remaining teammates call out to the unconscious four, unsuccessfully trying to shake them awake. The masked marauder chuckles to himself. "Let us see you four fools squirm and suffer in your slumber."


	2. Sonic's emotions

**SONIC**

I opened my eyes to a strange place. It felt I was in the middle of nowhere, except the place was a dark crimson shade. I can't stay here, I have to find a way out of this place if it's the last thing I do. I ran in a straight line, hoping to see a light at the end of the tunnel. But nothing happened. So I made another option.

"Hello? Anyone out there? Tails? Knuckles? Anybody?" No response. That's really strange. Suddenly, I heard someone crying. "Is someone here? Show yourself!" I ran a little in a few directions to get closer to the sound. With a final turn, I saw someone. Someone who was shaded blue… like me. I walked towards the person to take a closer look.

"Hey," I said to the figure. "Are you OK?"

"What do you care? Nobody cares."

That voice… it can't be! It sounds… just like me, except it was a frightened, sad, lonely and tortured voice.

I approached the person, placing my hand on a shoulder as a gesture of comfort. "That's ridiculous." I chuckled. "Of course somebody cares. You just have to…"

"Hold on to every little bit of hope I have left?" the voice interrupted. "What do you know?"

Before I could say anything, I began to notice some things. This creature has six quills on his head and two on his back, like me. He had the same gloves and shoes I am wearing, except… they were torn and damaged. He was covered with bruises, scratches and scars. I have never seen anything like this.

"Who are you?" I asked, wanting to know more about him.

"I… I was a hero. Loved and respected by all except my enemies." OK, now we're getting somewhere. "I remember that day… when I was being beaten around, with no time to move or act or think." Just like I was. "My little brother couldn't do anything to help me. He did NOTHING to help me!"

Little brother? No! He can't be talking about… "Look, I'm sure he did his best…"

"At doing what?" he interrupted. "Standing there on the sidelines waiting for some miracle to happen?" I couldn't believe my ears. How dare he say such a thing!

"That isn't fair, you! That kid was scared!"

"SCARED?" he countered, angered by my words. "The kid was _scared_ of facing the terrible fate at the hands of the eight robots he could have handled on his own?"

I couldn't find the words to say, hearing this. "He could have helped me in any other way, but no! He stood there watching me suffer! He called out to me, stupidly hoping that I would get up and fight! I closed my eyes as I couldn't keep up the fight. I thought I was done for. And the next I thing knew, I had cuffs on my hands and feet. Which means the twin-tailed fox I once called my best friend LEFT ME TO DIE OUT THERE!"

No, it's not true! Tails… he's just a kid. If he had stepped in to fight, he would have been hurt. He did the best he could to find a weakness, but nothing made sense on his scanner. No matter how hard he tried, nothing would ever come up.

"You're wrong! You got it all wrong." The battered and bruised hedgehog slowly stood up and turned to face me. My mouth opened in shock. He looked just like me, except his eyes were puffy and his sclera was pink from tears of pain and sorrow. He had a furious look in his eyes as if he wanted to punch someone in the face.

He approached me as if he wanted to take a closer look at me. I was getting worried about him. He needs time to rest and heal. "Easy there, buddy."

"My name… is not BUDDY!" His voice echoed through the area we are in. I managed to calm myself down from the shock of his booming voice screaming out the last word.

"I have been tortured for months. Every muscle in my body hurts so much. I am losing hope and my sanity! For months I had to endure every second of my life suffering in agony AND NO ONE SEEMS TO CARE! _I_ am the one who was scared! _I_ am the one who is scared!" This is hard to watch. Poor guy has had it rough. There's got to be something I can do to make him feel better.

"I'm sorry for your pain and suffering. Believe me, I know what it was like back then. But… I got out in the end. I'm sure you did as well." He turned away from me.

"How did you do it?" I was confused at what he was talking about. "Do what?" I asked.

"How did you manage to escape, without a single scratch on your body, without losing just a little bit of your sanity?"

"Well… I…"

He turns around to face me. "How were you not scared, broken and miserable like me?" He chuckles at the sight of me. "Look at you. Happy, healthy and completely sane. You must have been your happy place during all that torment."

I have heard enough! "Stop it."

"You think everything is all sunshine and rainbows, instead of facing the cold, hard facts of the real world."

"Stop it!"

"You think EVERYTHING is a joke to you. Well, let me tell you something, Sonic the Hedgehog. Life is not a joke." That was the last straw.

"I SAID STOP IT!"

Calm down, Sonic. Don't let him get to you. You're better than this, stronger than this. I tightly closed my eyes and turned my head away. When I opened my eyes and turned back to where I was facing him… he was nowhere to be seen. What in the world was that? Come on, Sonic, focus. How are you going to get out of here?

"You sure put up a fight there."

It's that voice again. I turned around to face whoever was talking to me. The figure looked exactly like me. Same hairstyle, same shade of blue, same attire, same fit condition… except... the look in his eyes. These eyes had a look of anger and disappointment in them. "Got to hand it to you, letting them out after so long. About time, too."

I chuckled nervously at his statement. "Oh, I was just in a bad mood today. Didn't have time for my morning coffee." The figure slowly clapped at my 'hilarious' joke.

"Ha ha ha."

I simply shrugged at him. "What? You don't like fun?"

He chuckled at me.

"See? Now you're getting it."

"Didn't you say that on your last day of imprisonment before your execution?" Execution? What is he…? Then it clicked.

"Oh, you mean the space trip, right? I've been there a few times. You even get to see the world. Literally."

He shook his head at me. "You should consider yourself lucky, otherwise you would have suffocated and frozen to death out there." OK, that definitely wasn't funny. "What? You thought this was a joke? Life is not a joke." I remember those words.

"Who are you?" I asked him.

"I am the manifestation of your emotions." Wait, what is he on about? "The guy you were talking to was your fear and pain. I manifest your anger and disappointment."

The other guy was my pain and fear. I don't believe it. "And what would I have to be angry and disappointed about?"

"Your friends."

My friends? That's who I'm disappointed and angry with? "For what? What did they do?"

"For months they thought you were dead. Everyone did, including Tails."

That struck a nerve. "What does Tails have to do with this?"

The infuriated look-a-like walked towards me. "Do you remember what he did to you? All the things he did to you?" All the things he… did to me?

"Remember when you reminded him of Eggman's plan to save the world? Remember when he accused you of doubting him?"

"But I _did_ doubt him."

"No, you didn't."

But… I did. I hurt him that day.

"He had NO RIGHT to accuse you of such a thing. In fact, he didn't even apologise to you, nor did he EVER guarantee that you NEVER doubted him in the first place. He just stood there, acting as if he was SO innocent."

Am I hearing this right? Is he telling the truth? No, I don't believe it. I don't want to believe it, not even for a second. "All you ever did was remind him of the plan, the plan he was perfectly fine with, and he had the gall to make you feel like the worst person in the world. And when you apologised, instead of getting an apology from him, he just let you stand there and take the blame for 'trusting' your arch-nemesis." I hung my head down as the words entered my ears and made their way to my brain.

"But we're not here to talk about the distant past events. We're here to talk about the recent events." Recent events? Is he…? "That's right, we're here to talk about the guy you trusted. The guy you would risk your life to save. The guy who left you to die."

"No, he didn't leave me to die. He would never…"

"He didn't do anything to help you, himself or others who needed his help. You saw those robots going for Tails, didn't you?"

I nodded. "And what was he doing with the other victims? Cowering in fear with the others, despite being gifted with the ability to fight. The ability to use weapons to his advantage. Some hero he is. He was a coward that day, and he did nothing to save you. Even when you were being beaten around. Even when you were losing consciousness."

My fists clenched as he continued to torment me, continued picking on my friend. "All he ever did was hide behind a rock and call out your name."

I have heard enough. "Leave him alone. Leave my brother alone." I begged through clenched teeth.

"Let me show you something."

I saw an image or something of Tails being attacked by Chaos 0. "Tails, run! Get out of here!"

"He cannot hear you."

What scared me the most was Tails shaking in fear, calling me for help. Chaos 0 is going to attack my friend! No. NO! What? A portal? Another Sonic? He… he saved him. Oh, thank goodness. "Remember what I said about Tails knowing how to fight? He did not use the gifts he had been given to defend himself, and instead, called out to his dead best friend to come and save him."

"He was scared."

"He helped you defeat Chaos 4! He prevented Station Square from being destroyed! He took matters into his own hands when he thought the escape pod exploded with you in it! He was somehow able to prevent his free will from being taken away from him. And now, he doesn't even know how to fight?! Let alone protect the people he cares about or himself?"

I don't know what to say. I don't know what to think. I don't know what to do. Tails, why?

"He has so much potential. So much potential… and he squandered it. By acting like a damsel in distress waiting for some knight in shining armor to step in and save the day. He's lucky the other Sonic was here to save him, and when he's gone, he is going to miss him so much. He is going to miss him so much more than the one person who, no matter what, always stood by him."

That was when it hit me. This feeling of… betrayal. I remember when Tails and I reunited and I told him to stop worrying so much. All I ever wanted was to be there for Tails, my brother, my best friend. Why wouldn't he do the same for me? Why didn't he save me?

"Tails… how could you do this to me? What could I have done to make you do this to me? Do you hate me? Don't you care anymore? Why didn't you use the gifts you were given to help me? How can you expect me to do all the work when you are more than capable of doing things on your own?"

I couldn't control myself. My face was drenched in tears. My emotions were getting the best of me. I don't care anymore. I'm going all out. I pounded my fist on the ground, repeatedly screaming 'why?'. Why Tails left me alone. Why my friends didn't try harder to come and rescue me? My voice echoed across the area as I screamed 'why?' for the last time.

I found myself, in pitch black darkness, mumbling. Mumbling about my friends and Tails not doing enough to help me. Then I see a light…


	3. Tails' personality

**TAILS**

My eyes slowly opened as if they were preparing to face a new day. The only problem is it wasn't a new day I was waking up to. It was a realm filled with darkness and I was seeing red. Literally. How did I end up here? Was the Phantom Ruby responsible for this? Only one way to find out.

Darn, I don't even have my scanner with me! I'm going to have to use my brain to solve this puzzle. Am I inside the Phantom Ruby? No, that can't be right. I could be in a realm under the Phantom Ruby's control. Which means… Oh no! I have to get out of here before I lose my mind.

Maybe I should call for help. Surely, my friends will eventually come and find me. "Sonic? Shadow? Knuckles? Are you out there?" No one will answer. Let me try again. "Knuckles! Shadow! Sonic! Can you hear me? Can anyone hear me?" Still no answer. What am I going to do? I'm stuck here unless I find a way out.

Just then, something… no, someone caught my eye. A small blue figure with six short blue quills, white gloves and red and white sneakers. I flew towards him and he turned around to face me. It's the same Sonic from another dimension. What is he doing here? Is he… going to rescue me?

I called out the other Sonic's name, and he just looked at me. No emotion, no actions, nothing. "Sonic? Are you… feeling OK?" Just as I was about to check his temperature, the other Sonic sped off in a blue streak. "Sonic? Sonic, wait! Come back! Sooonnniiiiiiicc!" I chased him as fast as I could, with the help of my two tails. But it was no use. The other Sonic is gone.

"Don't go. Don't leave me alone." I sadly bowed my head down. Then suddenly a voice called out to me. Sonic's voice, _my_ Sonic's voice. I turned around to see Sonic standing in front of me. I flew towards him to give him a brotherly hug, but he avoided me with his incredible speed.

What's going on? Why is he avoiding me? "Sonic… what's gotten into you? I thought you'd be happy to see me." I slowed my tails down to a halt, my feet, touching the ground. I was beginning to worry about my big brother; he had a neutral look on his face. "Sonic, please. Talk to me. Say something, anything!"

Finally, he spoke. "What you do want me to say, Tails? Tell me what to say."

His voice sounded… broken. The emotion of anger was creeping up on his face. This was heart-breaking for me to see and hear.

"How did you end up here?"

He chuckled at my enquiry, as if it was a stupid one. "That's your question? 'How did I end up here?' is your question?"

"B-but you're here… with me. Y-you must know how you got here."

"And I supposed _that's_ the only thing that concerns you? Instead of my wellbeing?" I was shocked to hear this. Why is Sonic being like this? He's usually calm and collected. But not this time. "I WAS worried about you. I thought you were dead. When we reunited and I told you how I felt about you dying, you told me not to worry so much."

Sonic shook his head laughing. "Did I really say that?"

I started to get angry at the blue hedgehog's games. "Sonic, this isn't funny! I KNOW what happened. You told me you were fine. I saw it with my own eyes."

He simply smiled at me, looking at me as if I was making up stories. "Was that what you saw, or was that what you THOUGHT you saw?" No, it wasn't my imagination playing up at that time.

"Just like when you thought you saw me trusting Eggman more than you, when I clearly wasn't." I remember that day when Eggman and I were fighting. Sonic got in the way and told me that we needed Eggman to stop the machine from sucking the life out of the planet. I felt betrayed by my best friend when he said those words. I felt that he didn't trust me enough to help save the world… and it hurt.

"I tried to remind you of the plan to save the world because you told me to. Or were you just being sarcastic? You were perfectly fine with the plan, if I remember correctly. We were supposed to distract the Zeti while Eggman shuts the machine down. That's what I wanted to tell you, but you wouldn't let me finish." That's when I realised my mistake. Sonic was trying to tell me something, and I… I didn't listen.

"I thought I was a terrible friend for doing such a thing. I even apologised for doubting you. And what did you say to me? 'It's cool'. Not 'you didn't do anything like that' or 'no, I'M the one who should be sorry for making you think you doubted me'. You just said 'it's cool'!

"You even went as far as to tell me about 'something even Eggman couldn't do'! Were you talking about his intelligence or his lack of decency? Or were you saying these things just to rub it in my face?" I couldn't stop my lip from trembling. This was a bit too much to handle. What have I done? I am such a terrible friend.

"I am so sorry. I am so sorry, Sonic." My eyes began to water at the sheer thought of my selfish ways. I made Sonic feel stupid and terrible for 'trusting' someone else.

"Why didn't you get the others to safety?" I opened my eyes in shock. What?

"Sonic… I did get the others to safety."

Sonic shook his head. "No, you didn't. Not before I showed up."

Before he showed up? "What were you doing when you were cornered by the eight robots you could have easily handled?" I couldn't find the right words to say about that. I was just as scared as the others. "Were you waiting for a miracle to happen? I could have left you to handle it, but no. Because I am the righteous hero, I just had to step in to save the day.

"And what about the new guy I couldn't defeat?" Infinite? Yeah, I remember him. My scanner couldn't figure him out, the data was screwed up and it didn't make any sense. "What were you doing this entire time, aside from trying to figure him out with that silly little scanner of yours?"

Silly? My scanner was _silly_? How… how dare you! I tried to help you any way I could.

"Hiding behind a rock, watching me suffer and then leaving me to die!"

"I thought you wanted me to find out what Infinite's power was."

Sonic became infuriated, hearing those words. "I DID want you to find out, Tails! But you still could have helped me! You did nothing! NOTHING AT ALL! You didn't step in to help me fight, you didn't check to see if I was OK and you didn't have the decency to get me to safety!

"All you ever did was stand there, waiting for a miracle that never happened!"

"But you died right in front of my eyes. I saw you die right there in front of me."

"Did I die, Tails? Or did you think I had died?" I couldn't believe my ears. Was I the main reason Sonic disappeared?

I remember telling my friends what I thought happened to Sonic. Everyone was angry with me for not doing anything to help anyone, not even Sonic. They told me that I was capable of doing so many things, and I didn't put my skills to use. The Chaotix were disappointed, Silver was upset and Amy was the WORST. Her words were like darts being thrown at me. Knuckles, on the other hand, had nothing to say. Nothing. He just turned his head away and left.

Everywhere I looked, people were glaring at me. Berating me for wasting my potential, instead choosing to let the worldwide hero do all the work and suffer the consequences. Their voices were echoing in my head just now. I wanted to tell them to stop. The voices… they wouldn't stop. No, please. Leave me alone! LEAVE ME ALOOOOOONNNNEEE!

"Why didn't you save me, Tails? Why did you want me destroyed out there?" No, I didn't want you to be destroyed. I would never… "What were you doing these past six months? Wishing upon a star that I would come back?"

I sobbed uncontrollably at what I had done to let this happen to Sonic.

"How did you meet up with the other Sonic?" I summoned the courage to tell him everything. When I couldn't fix Omega, when Chaos 0 attacked me, when I got scared and asked Sonic to help me, when the other Sonic saved me and when… we teamed up to save the world.

"So… Chaos 0, his weakest form, attacked you and you did nothing? Why didn't you fight back? You and I dealt with him before, when he had, what, four Chaos Emeralds inside his body. You even stopped Eggman from destroying Station Square! You avenged my 'death' once! You even managed to keep your own free will when the Zeti turned you into their robotic slave.

"You used to be the kid who wanted to do things on his own. What happened to you? Where did my brave little brother go?" A thought suddenly came to him. "What about the other Sonic? What are you going to do when he is gone? Are you going to miss him more than you missed me? Do you trust him _more_ than you trust me?"

What? Why would Sonic accuse me of such a thing? "No, I- I do trust you, Sonic."

"Do you? Because I wouldn't be surprised if you wished he could stay in our world forever, considering the little amount of time you had with him. You sure are going to miss the little guy, more than the guy who was locked up and tortured for half a year! The guy who had always been there for you!"

Suddenly, I began to hear the voices again. They were getting louder this time, as if they were coming to reality. I opened my eyes calling out Sonic's name, only for me to see the people I let down berating me. I searched for Sonic, but he was nowhere to be seen.

He's gone and my only company was the people yelling at me for what I did to Sonic. As well as what I failed to do for the people. They were incredibly outraged and upset, asking me who I thought I was. How I could allow this to happen. Why I let these things happen to them, to the world.

How I could abandon them when they needed me. They were calling me names, blaming me for what I had done. "Sonic! Sonic, where are you?" I called through the voices of the crowd.

"He's not here, kid." A raspy voice said to me. That voice belonged to the leader of the Chaotix, the guy who LOVES his headphones.

"Sonic is gone. He's never coming back."

Another voice then spoke to me, a calm voice, in fact. His yellow eyes, filled with disappointment. "He has been missing for months. You could have done something to help him back then."

Then another voice, the voice of a hyperactive child. "Sonic is gone because of you! This is all your fault!"

Everyone cheered loudly in agreement on what the bee just told me.

"Why didn't you save him? You should have tried harder to save him." The voice led me to a light grey hedgehog. He then told me that everyone would have been more understanding if I had tried harder to help Sonic.

I turned away from him, and I saw a pink hedgehog nervously nibbling on the right side of her bottom lip. I approached her and called out to her. She stopped biting her lip and glared at me, shaking her head before bumping into me to pass. I ran to her to stop her in her tracks, to tell her I'm sorry.

"Sorry? Sorry? You think 'sorry' is going to bring Sonic back from the dead?"

She began to walk away, but I wasn't letting her go. Not until she listened to reason. "Amy, please…" Amy turned around and… SLAP! Right across the face. I held my left cheek in pain and in shock. Amy's dangerous eyes stared deeply into my soul.

"Amy… you have to understand…"

"That you were too scared to do anything to help?" I couldn't even begin to process what she just said to me. "Why didn't you use the gifts you were given to help? That's what _I_ would have done! That's what ANYONE would have done!"

The crowd cheered, agreeing with Amy this time. "Sonic was your brother. Sonic was your best friend. He had ALWAYS been there for you, risking his life to keep you safe. But would you ever do the same? No! All you ever did was stand there doing nothing, like the coward you are." A coward? Me?

"If only you had stepped in to help, if only you had used your talents to help those in need, then maybe we would have supported you every step of the way. But you wasted them. And Sonic is dead, and it's all – your – fault!" And with that, Amy finally walked away without me trying to stop her.

The last person I saw was a red echidna, folding his arms in sheer disappointment. I approached him and he said nothing. I called his name and he said nothing, unfolding his arms. I even apologised and begged him to talk to me, and he pushed me onto the ground. Even when I looked up at him, he still said nothing.

I got up to my feet, and Knuckles closed his eyes and turned his head away as he walked past me. I called out his name one last time, and he stopped… and turned to face me. I waited for him to say something, anything, to me. But he still – said – nothing… and slowly walked away. I was all alone, accompanied by the voices shouting abuse at me, demanding to know why I did nothing.

I fell on my knees, having realised the cold, hard truth about myself. The voices quietened down and the red realm slowly faded to black. "Sonic… everyone… I failed you. I failed you all. I'm sorry for what I've done, and I'm sorry for not doing anything to help. All I ever wanted was to be a hero, but I can't be a hero… not while I'm sitting on my butt all the time.

"I guess it's because people see me as a kid and not as a guy who could do so much with his given skills. I'm sorry for being an awful companion, I'm sorry for being an awful friend and I'm sorry for… EVERYTHING."

I kept repeating to myself how sorry I was. Then, there was a light…


	4. Knuckles' role

**KNUCKLES**

I opened my eyes as if I was waking up from a dream. I suddenly found myself in a dark place painted in dark crimson. This can't be real, right? That last thing I remember was being surrounded by a red ring and a red glow radiating from it. Then I was struck by lightning.

It all felt so real… but this is the Phantom Ruby's doing, right? Yeah… yeah, it's not real. Whatever is happening is not real. I just need to get out of this place as quickly as possible. How I'm going to get out, I don't know. I wonder why I was attacked, though. I hope the others are alright.

But what about Sonic, Shadow and Tails? Are they in this realm too? I think I saw red rings around them as well. Which means… no, they can't be! I need to start searching for an exit, but where do I start? Where can I find an exit to escape this place? My first instinct was to move forward. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me.

I may not be as fast as Sonic, but I wasn't going to let that stop me from finding a way out. I searched everywhere for a way out, but there was nothing.

"This is insane. There has to be a way out of this place. There just has to be." Then a thought came to me. "What if this place is mirrored to the real world? If I just…"

Wasting no time at all, I began digging my way out, and the ground was surprisingly easy to shovel through. The ground I was digging up was like dirt or terrain that was easy for me to get through, so this should be easy. All I have to do is just keep going. Then suddenly, a hand popped out of the ground like a plant or a tree reaching towards the sky.

My heart palpitated at the sight, then I figured out something I should have known from the start. "Heheh, this is just an illu-"

Surprisingly enough, I was able to touch the hand that emerged from the ground, instead of phasing right through it. How is that even possible? If I remember correctly, all the Phantom Ruby does is give the brain false information.

My instincts told me to pull the hand out… and I did. As I pulled the hand out, more dirt was being lifted up from the ground. What? A body? The dirt that was enveloping the body was moving like a waterfall as I was pulling someone out of their final resting place. Having succeeded in my mission, the person coughed and spluttered, gasping for air on hands and knees.

The person I saved from being smothered turn out to be… a wolf of some kind. He was light orange, I think, and covered in dirt, obviously from being buried alive. At least I think he was buried alive… he must have been holding his breath while trying to dig his way out. Poor guy.

"Are you OK?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Yes, I'm fine." The wolf had a voice that sounded like someone with a TERRIBLE cold, the kind of cold that makes someone sound like a baritone singer. "Thanks for the save. I owe you one."

"It's alright." I responded. "What happened to you? How did you…?"

"End up underground?" he interrupted. "Funny story. I was just like the others."

That statement confused me. My curiosity wanted me to know and understand the full story. "What do you mean 'like the others'?"

"Haha, you really want to know?" He slowly starts to rise up like a baby taking its first steps, but upon seeing him struggle to get up, I decided to pitch in to help him stand on his own two feet. Literally.

"Easy there, buddy. I got you. There you go."

He thanked me for helping him up, using any particular words he could find in order to flatter me for doing one simple thing for him. My cheeks flushed a rose tint. Then I was the first to break the ice. "Now then, are you going to tell me…?" I yelped in fear as the wolf opened his eyes to reveal nothing but pure white.

His eyes were as blank as an unwritten sheet of paper. My heart jumped at the sight of the dead-eyed figure staring into my soul like a demon. "No, that isn't real! This can't be real!"

Then the wolf spoke to me, using the same voice as before. "What you're seeing isn't real. Do you remember those words… Commander?"

I shook my head in disbelief. My actions and words, did they…? "No, you can't be…"

"Like I said, I was just like the others." Suddenly, I'm… trembling. What? My fear is… taking control of me. No, I can't afford to show any signs of fear. No matter how many times I mentally told myself to stop, my body wouldn't listen to me.

"On the plus side," he spoke, "At least I can be with my family again. My parents and older brother."

I can't believe I'm hearing this. He was the only member of his family left? And because of that… cursed gem, he lost not only the battle but also his life. Did _I_ do this? No, I would never…

"We lost our father when we were kids, and our mother passed away when my brother was a late teen. Three months after the fall of our beloved hero, because of his failure of a teammate, my brother lost his life trying to deal with the man responsible for his demise."

Which means… he had to carry on in his brother's place. He was a soldier until… that day, when… and he…

"You gave us a mission, and we failed it miserably." He grabbed me by the arms and before I could say anything, pain was shooting up through my nerves and it spread through my body. The worst part was when my brain felt like it was about to explode. The experience was excruciating for me, and I unsuccessfully tried to hold my agonising screams back.

"Remember what you told us," he shouted, raising his voice at me. "It isn't real. That's what you told us. Before we lost the battle and our lives because of the mission we foolishly accepted, without a second thought."

I was still screaming at the top of my lungs from the pain. This has to be the worst experience of my life. Everything felt so real. Please make it stop. Make it stop! I couldn't do anything in life right now except scream. I might even end up with a sore throat at this rate.

"This is the pain we all felt before our lives were taken from us. Because of that strange power we were under. Because of _you_." Then he let go of me. But I was still in suffering in agony; the pain was subsiding at a snail's pace.

Completely drenched in sweat and gasping for breath, I began trembling again. Stop it, Knuckles, stop it! The worst is over. Pull yourself together! With the soreness all over my body nearly fading into nothing, I take a few breaths to calm myself down. As I look up, more people with dead, white eyes arrive.

Wherever I turned my head, more people with the same condition would show up. Birds, wolves, cats, bears and all other animals. Male and female standing in a circle, glaring at me, judging me, scorning me.

One member, a bird, of the zombie-like crowd points a finger at me. "You did this. You did this to us." He spoke in a tired, angry voice.

"We did all the hard work for nothing! We lost the battle and our lives, thanks to you." A dog woman spoke.

"What made you think a full frontal assault was a good idea, you pathetic excuse for a Commander?" A male bear yelled.

"We trusted you!"

"You destroyed us!"

"Some of us have families and then we left them behind!"

"There is nothing left for us now!"

"How could you do this to us? What did we ever do to you, Knuckles?" More voices called out.

They were angry and upset with me for my actions. I didn't mean for this to happen. I… no! This isn't happening! The Phantom Ruby is trying to break me. I won't let that happen. I won't! "I was… I was trying to do what a good Commander would have done." The rambunctious crowd fell silent.

"What a _good_ Commander would have _done_?" A blue hedgehog called out. That blue hedgehog was different from the others. He had green eyes that gave off a stone cold stare, with a face of thunder. That hedgehog was wearing white gloves and red and white sneakers. He even had a peach oval of skin in the middle of his body, with matching arms, muzzle and ears.

A hedgehog who is none other than… "Sonic?" The look on his face was still unchanged. "What are you…?"

"Off all the reckless, irresponsible, idiotic things you have done, this one _takes the cake_. NO good Commander would EVER pull a stunt like that. What were you thinking at that time?" Am I hearing this right? The hypocrite is calling me, _me_ , out on my mistake.

"You're one to talk. Look at all the reckless things YOU did!"

"This isn't about me, Knuckles." He countered, deflecting my verbal attack on him. "In fact, you, along with everyone else, gave up looking for me."

I couldn't believe what I'd heard. "I sent someone to go around looking for you! Shouldn't you be thanking me for _at least_ saving your life?"

Sonic chuckled at me. "Took you, what, half a year to finally find me. And then you come up with the bright idea of sending A ROOKIE to come and save me. Except for one thing, my friends didn't save me. I saved myself." I was shocked to hear those words spewing out of that hedgehog's mouth.

"And then you had the gall to send me out on a mission to destroy the factory at Green Hill, after the SIX MONTHS of isolation and torture I had been through, as well as put the Rookie, A ROOKIE, in danger."

My blood boiled at his negative attitude towards me. "If I remember correctly, you were OK with the mission. Plus, you refused my offer to send reinforcements in case you couldn't handle it."

"And you went along with what I said anyway? What if I had broken down during the mission? And what if the Rookie had ended up dying in vain? Then what?" I stumbled upon my words, trying to reason with him.

"And then there was that wonderful, well-thought plan you came up with: a full frontal assault. Do you have any idea what _that_ means? Or did you forget to look it up in the dictionary?" He's insulting my intelligence. I can't just sit there and take it.

"I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but at least I _tried_ to do _something_ to stop Eggman."

The hedgehog turned his gaze to the floor and back to me. "Yeah, you're right."

I… am? About what? "You _aren't_ the sharpest tool in the shed. I also don't understand why NO ONE had _any_ objections or questions concerning your oh-so-brilliant plan."

My anger slowly changes to sadness. "Everyone was fine with the plan." I'm sure of it. They all agreed with my idea.

"Is that so?" A woman spoke. It was a cat with two children, an infant boy and a little girl.

"Knowing you and your temper, my husband agreed to go along with your plan. And now that he's gone, my kids will have to grow up without a father!" The two children cried, with the daughter calling out for her father while wondering about his whereabouts.

"My children are frightened and lonely without their dad. It's your fault my husband is dead!"

Then another voice, a teenage boy bear, spoke out. "My sister is gone and my parents are all I have left. All she ever wanted was to make the world a better place. And now, she _can't_ make the world a better place. Because you took that chance away from her!"

Then another voice spoke. A female dog berating me for not coming up with _another_ way to get to Eggman. She said I should have concocted a plan that would give him the element of surprise. A sneak attack? That's the plan I should have come up with? Voice after voice verbally attacked me for my actions towards their loved and lost ones, while the voices of the dead blamed me for sealing their tragic fate.

With one more voice asking me what the people ever did to me, I fell on my hands and knees in despair.

"Nothing." I responded, finally getting a word out. "This is my fault. It is all my fault. I would never do anything to cause this. Not on purpose." The volume of the collection of voices reduces to zero, while the realm fades to black.

"If I hadn't been so stupid, so stubborn, then none of this would have happened. You people don't deserve this. Not any of this. No matter how hard I tried to make things better, I would always make things worse."

I utter a heartfelt apology for the poor performance of my role as Commander, for my foolish mistakes and for everything else I have done. I finally ask for forgiveness… before the light begins to illuminate the darkness and take me along with it.


	5. Shadow's mistake

**SHADOW**

I slowly opened my eyes like a lazy man reluctant to go to work, with my face on the ground. Steadily rising up from the ground with my hand on the right side of my head, I found myself in a dark place. Black and red were mixed together to make this place look… unsettling and spine-shattering.

Could this be the Phantom Ruby's doing? Am I in virtual reality? The last time I was in virtual reality was when I met Infinite. He told me how he became the monster he is today and then… yes, I AM in virtual reality again. I got out before, so it shouldn't be that hard to find a way out again.

There must be something I can do to get out. I don't see any platforms I can use to help me make my escape. Guess I'll have to run for my freedom. I hope the others are all right. I'm lost in thought as I run within the strange realm. Rouge… Omega… Sonic… Everyone… I hope you're all safe. Wait for me, I'll come to you as soon as I can.

So far, I had no such luck in escaping. What is going on? Where is that wretched exit? I can't stay here, I have to escape one way or another.

"Someone," I say under my breath. "Give me a sign, any sign." I look around the place only to find nothing.

Then, out of nowhere… an evil cackle enters my ears. "Well, look who it is."

That voice. Is that…? No, it can't be. I turned around to see the masked monster who put me in this place. "You! What are you doing here?"

He simply laughs at me, and I frown at him. "Answer me, right now!"

"Or what?" Infinite enquired before teleporting towards me. However, I was undeterred at his futile attempt to intimidate me. Mask or no mask, he is still… "I know what you're thinking, Shadow the Hedgehog. With or without my mask, I am still weak."

Weak? When did I ever call him that? I called him worthless and pathetic, but not once did I ever call him weak.

"Weak, because I was defeated after I failed to avenge my squad. The squad you mercilessly eliminated! They were my family, my friends, and YOU… hahaha, you took them away from me!"

I chuckled at his emotional state. "And _that's_ what got you to wear a jewel and a mask with a voice modulator? Because someone beat you up and called you names? You decided to throw a temper tantrum over something as petty as this? Come on." I turned around and walked away from him, hoping never to see him again.

Then suddenly… "Don't you walk away from me!" As I continued to walk, my body suddenly froze. I was unable to move for a short period of time before my right arm started acting funny. It was as if it had a mind of its own.

"What? What is this? Infinite, what is going on?"

Infinite began laughing at my unwilling actions. He was controlling me like a puppet! He turned me around to face him.

I could sense his wicked smile underneath the mask, even though I was unable to see it. For some reason, that smile sent shivers down my spine. "How does it feel to be the one who is afraid?"

"You… you sick…!"

"'Monster'? Hahahaha, flattery will get you nowhere. Especially after you took everything away from me."

"Your squad was in my way. I had no choice."

"But to strike them down in cold blood? Tell me, how would you feel if someone had taken everything away from you?" Infinite's question reminded me of my past, when I had suffered 50 years ago.

"It did happen. Everything was taken away from me. My home, my creator and, most importantly, the girl who was like a sister to me." I swallowed hard, thinking about the one thing I swore to put behind me. "She had dreams about visiting the planet, but she couldn't because… she was sick. One day, when soldiers invaded the ARK and took down everyone who knew about me, my friend chose to save my life, sacrificing hers in the process."

"And how was she sacrificed?" Infinite asked, wanting to know exactly how she lost her life.

"She was shot down. She made me promise to protect the planet and its people, ignoring a soldier's pleas to step away from the control panel. But when she was gone, I couldn't think straight. I wanted nothing more than revenge for what the soldiers did to her. I also wanted revenge on the world."

"So, you were willing to destroy billions of lives for something a small number of people did."

I nodded at Infinite's statement. "Why didn't you, when you had the chance to?"

"I had _two_ chances to destroy the planet containing her species. Before I suffered amnesia, someone reminded me of the promise I made to my friend: give everyone a chance to be happy.

"After I had suffered amnesia, aliens wanted me to join them in their quest to bring the humans' planet to its ugly demise. I was siding with them for some time because their leader promised to tell me the truth about my past. When I finally saw the error of my ways, I decided to make up for my mistakes. I drove off the creatures and collected fragments of my past, putting them together.

"I was a fool to trust the alien leader over a few people who knew about my past, and I'm… sorry about that. But the past is the past and I am willing to move on from there. Speaking of destroying lives, why did you beat up Sonic in cold blood when _I_ was the one who defeated and insulted you?"

Infinite stood there in silence, and released his grip on me, before opening his mouth. "I was simply following Dr Eggman's orders. He and I formed an alliance. Before my squad was destroyed. When you took everything away from me and insulted me, I vowed to become stronger I was before. And it is all thanks to you, Shadow the Hedgehog."

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and sighed. "Omega… Sonic…"

"Does the Ultimate Life Form miss his friends?" He is clearly mocking me. I can't show any signs of weakness.

"What friends? I don't have time for friends." Then I heard a familiar voice, multiple voices to be exact.

"Is that so?" Heavy footsteps approach me and I gape at the sight of Infinite's first victim.

"O…Omega? How did you…?"

Omega's eyes emitted a sinister red glow, as if he was furious with me. "You… left me… alone. Broken… and… destroyed… like a worthless… piece of junk." "Omega, I…" "No one… came for me. I… was all… alone… for months… waiting for… assistance. You… didn't care… about me at all."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Omega thinks I betrayed him. Did I _really_ abandon him?

"Omega, I'm sorry. I didn't…" Just then, Omega raised his arms at me, ready to fire. My heart jumped at the sight of what was going to happen to me.

"NO APOLOGIES. NO EXPLANATIONS. YOU MUST PAY. PAY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO ME." This can't be good. I have to do something.

"Omega, please… give me a chance to… no, wait! Please, Omega, please. Don't do this."

"Why shouldn't I?" the E-series robot asked. "Is it because we are friends? You don't have time for friends."

Just as I tried to escape, my body froze. "You're not going anywhere, Shadow. Omega, do what you must." Infinite! He's preventing me from moving an inch. I can't even teleport to safety.

Omega was ready to go for the kill. He fired shots at me and all I could do was scream in pain, while my body violently jerked and shook under the impact of the assault. What lasted for 12 seconds felt like an eternity of excruciating pain. Every time I got up and tried to move, the assault would start up again. After the fourth and final assault, I was unable to stand up straight or move.

I was just lying there, face down and breathing heavily. A hand then turns me around, and I see Infinite staring at me before slowly removing his mask. I could barely see his true face as my vision fades at a snail's pace. "Now you see me. Me… and my pathetic face." Then there was a flash of white as I felt a fist on my face.

I wake up hearing voices calling out my name. As I sit up and shake my head, I open my eyes to see… black and white animals glaring at me. They were jackals, like Infinite. A male jackal speaks to me. "You did this. You did this to us."

Then a female speaks up. "You destroyed us all. In cold blood. What did we ever do to you?"

Then another male. "You didn't have to finish us off like that. You could have knocked us out."

Then another female. "Why have you done this to us? Why did you mercilessly slay us all? Why didn't you spare us?"

Multiple voices were asking me why. Why I killed them without a second thought. Why I defeated and insulted their leader. One of the jackals told me that they would have abandoned him for his crazy idea to defeat me if it wasn't for me.

One question came to mind. "How did you all end up working for Dr Eggman?"

A male jackal spoke up. "We had no choice."

This can't be good. I have to know what caused them to do this. "Were any of you threatened or tortured into this?"

"No," he answered. "Our leader was affected by a glowing red stone when his sword came into contact with it.

"Then he started acting strange. The man gave him an offer and, instead of listening to us, our leader decided to work with him. We couldn't bring ourselves to abandon him, so we followed him wherever he and the evil man went. Until the day you came and SLAUGHTERED US ALL." The jackals roar in anger and cheer in agreement.

A female jackal spoke up next. "You caused our leader to go mad and adopt a new persona. A madman with the powers of a gemstone, which he uses to implant fear into the hearts of men, women and children. We may be physically gone, but our spirits continue to live on. We, as spirits, have seen the endless misery and destruction brought to the planet. The destruction caused by YOUR hand!"

The roar of the crowd echoes across the realm. The sheer thoughts of my actions slowly eat away at me.

I closed my eyes tightly as a certain blue hedgehog came to mind. "Sonic… I'm sorry."

"Are you? Are you sorry?" That voice… it's…

And from that point, the same blue hedgehog, covered with cuts and bruises, staggers out from among the quietening crowd. The same blue hedgehog wearing torn white gloves and slightly damaged red and white sneakers.

"Sonic?" He raised his head at a turtle's pace, his emerald eyes glaring dangerously at me.

"Long time no see, Shadow the Hedgehog." The tone of his voice was low and sinister, like a demon coming to meet an unfortunate soul awaiting his or her impending eternal doom. "Been busy? Where have you been during these past six months?"

"Sonic… I had a lot to deal with during these past six months."

The faker chuckled like a mischievous child with a love for pranks. "Still worrying about that girl, are you? I thought you were past that, Shadow."

"'That girl' has a _name_ , Sonic, and I have already put my past behind me." The blue blur slowly his eyes and shook his head slightly.

"Is that so? Because I assumed you were working with Eggman because the guy I couldn't defeat promised that he would bring her back… on the condition that you stayed true blue to the doctor." He slowly approached me, badly limping along the way, as the words filled with anger and anguish came out of his mouth.

"I never wanted to believe that it was true, but then 'you' attacked me. Or at least, 'you' were about to attack me. Then the _real_ you showed up and told me that the Shadow I was facing was a fake." Yes, that part was true.

"So, that means while I was locked up and tortured for six months straight, you were just gathering information on Infinite. Well, how long did _that_ take? I guess I wasn't as important as _he_ was, huh? What, did you think I was perfectly fine?" Using his speed, his hands were like claws gripping on a toy in an arcade machine. He pulled me closer to him by the arms, seething with rage. "Why don't you take a closer look, Shadow? Which part of me screams 'perfectly fine' to you?" His voice was different... like he was descending further and further into insanity. Worry was filling my mind, just thinking about his mental and emotional instability.

"Sonic…"

He chuckles maniacally, slightly startling me. "You were not listening," Sonic stated in a singsong manner. "I asked you… which part of me… screamed 'PERFECTLY FINE' TO YOU!" The last word echoed across the room.

Finally, I was able to speak. "I thought you would have gotten out sooner rather than later. This wasn't supposed to happen. I tried to get to you in time, but by the time I got there, no one was there. No one except…"

"The weakling who left me to die." Weakling? Who is he calling 'weakling'? "There he was, trying to figure out what that guy's power was. You know him, don't you? Good with machines, can fly a plane, has two tails." Wait, _Tails_ is the weakling?

"He was just there, JUST THERE, waiting on the sidelines for a hopeless miracle. He couldn't even find the courage to take down a group of eight simple robots. I had to save him, only for me to be beaten nearly to death! All because he was too weak, too cowardly to do anything decent."

I swallowed hard upon hearing those words. The Sonic I know would _never_ say anything like that, especially about Tails. The two of them were like brothers.

"This should never have happened. He never should have gone for you. I tried to stop him, make him understand that _I'm_ the one he should be fighting. But I was too late to stop him."

"Why?" Sonic asked, wanting to know the full story. "What did you do to make him hate me so much that he _tried to kill me_?" I took a deep breath and sighed heavily, as I was about to face whatever was going to happen to me as soon as I told him the truth about Infinite's past.

"To put it shortly, I took out some mercenaries he was leading. Then I had to focus on a mission I had in the jungle. One jackal, the leader of the squad of mercenaries, wanted revenge. He tried to attack me, but I quickly gained the upper hand."

I slowly closed my eyes as I continued, trying to finish the story of the events I can only remember. "I chose to spare his life. I… said he was worthless and told him never to show his pathetic face around me again. Sometime later, on the day Omega was shut down and you were attacked, we met again. But this time, he was same the man you faced. He said I was the reason for his transformation… and he was right."

"So, he came after me. Mercilessly attacked me, instead of YOU." Sonic concluded. I nodded at his harsh yet honest conclusion. "You killed his squad, beat him around, insulted him, and turned him against ME!" He threw me to my right with brute force. "And now the entire world is burning because of YOU!"

He sweeps his right leg, kicking me across the face. I struggled to get up and when I turned to face him. "Sonic, I didn't think he would take my words to heart so easily."

That, unexpectedly, set him off the edge. "YOU _IDIOT_!" the world's fastest hedgehog screamed, at the top of his lungs, as I turned my back to the floor.

"YOU were the reason I ALMOST DIED and the world had been taken over by Eggman! What, you thought the guy you met and defeated would just forget about what you did _and_ said to him? He may have been a mercenary, but at least he had a family."

Sonic grabbed me by the arms again and pulled me closer to him, shaking me violently as he continued to admonish me. "And now, thanks to YOU, he is a _villain_! Villains are NOT incapable of feeling emotions, sick boy!" Sick boy? No one has ever called me that before.

"Think of your 'sister', the girl you loved and lost! She had met her fate at the hands of men, but she DID NOT wish for the destruction of their planet." Then he released me from his grip as he successfully regained his composure.

Yes, as much as I hated to admit it, it was true. "No, she never wanted the planet to be destroyed. I was supposed to give everyone a chance to be happy, just as I had promised her. Twice, I had nearly broken my promise." I sighed heavily at my thoughts and actions that were involved with the devastation of the world that now belonged to the evil doctor.

"But now, I realise that I _did_ break my promise… because I did NOTHING to prevent the destruction of our world, nor did I do anything to help the people who were in need during these long, dreadful months. I even wasted the potential of a good friend I had when he was out of commission. And he had been like this for months. Neither I or Rouge even cared enough to help him out."

I began to notice everything and everyone in the realm fading into nothing but a sea of pitch black. "I thought I could do what the Ultimate Life Form was supposed to do to protect this world, but… I was wrong. The world was at stake and I did _nothing_ to stop it or even try to save it. Sonic… Omega… everyone… I'm sorry. …Maria… forgive me."

Then, the light steadily brightens the dark atmosphere around me and slowly reaches out towards me.


	6. Public announcement and thanks

Hey, guys. I hope you enjoyed my Sonic Forces fanfic, "Illusions and Cold Hard Truths". I have to tell you, I REALLY should have planned this out from the get-go. I guess I was afraid of the fact that my mind would go blank while staring at a blank piece of paper (this always happens to me!), so whatever original plans I had were thrown out the window. Sigh…

Anyway, you're probably wondering what I was thinking when I made this story. Well, I was thinking, "What if Infinite was to mess with the minds of some people before trying to destroy the Resistance with the Sun?" Sooo I decided to write down whatever came to mind… after the original fighting scene with Infinite and his clones of Shadow, Chaos, Zavok and Metal Sonic.

And from there, I wrote down whatever came to mind… with some writer's block to deal with. Originally, I was going to make Tails dream about Sonic berating him for what he failed to do (kind of like that YouTube video where the Toads scold Princess Peach for doing nothing to help), or have Tails remember what he failed to do and apologise to Sonic for it. Something like a deleted scene from Sonic Forces. I couldn't go through with it because I thought it was going to be terrible.

In case you guys don't understand which video I'm referring to, type down 'SMB Legendary Warrior episode 2' on YouTube, click on the VERY FIRST video and go to 7:12.

For those of you wondering what happened to the four characters (Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Shadow), let me tell you this: they are not – repeat, NOT – dead. I could make up a chapter where the characters go through a Heroic BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) shortly before snapping out of it, buuut I don't think I can make it sound good so I won't be taking that risk. Sorry. :-(

The reason I am saying this is because someone was confused about what happened to the characters after suffering from their nightmarish illusions, so I hope this clears this up for you. Just to let you guys know, this is NOT a new chapter. It's an announcement and my thanks to you guys for letting me know your thoughts and opinions on this story.

Thank you guys SO much for reading, and take care. ;-)


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